Squad Breakdown: Sydney Roosters SC roster analysis

• SQUAD ANNOUNCEMENT: SC Spy drops his 2022 team
• SQUAD BREAKDOWN: Sea Eagles SC roster analysis

The Sydney Roosters enter the new season after a difficult 2021 campaign plagued by injuries.

The bodies will be rested up and the Bondi Boys will be in hot contention to add to their trophy cabinet come September.

There’s a few new faces, however the spine and forward pack remain the same which is important – albeit Luke Keary only played a handful of games last season.

They’re littered with attacking prowess across the park and boast a plethora of SuperCoach options to begin the season.

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They kick off their campaign with games against the Knights (H), Sea Eagles (H), Rabbitohs (A), Cowboys (A), Broncos (A).

It’s hard work finding a player in this squad that isn’t SuperCoach relevant.

With our predicted teams, for SuperCoach purposes we’ve included any players returning from injury/suspension in the first three rounds in the starting line-up.

This combines both the likely starting teams and best 17s, as initial price changes occur after Round 3.

Let’s take a look at the Roosters’ SuperCoach prospects to begin the new season.

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PREDICTED TEAM

1. James Tedesco 2. Daniel Tupou 3. Paul Momirovski 4. Joseph Manu 5. Joseph Suaalii 6. Sam Walker 7. Luke Keary 8. Jared Waerea-Hargreaves 9. Sam Verrills 10. Siosiua Taukeiaho 11. Angus Crichton 12. Sitili Tupouniua 13. Victor Radley

Bench: 14. Connor Watson 15. Lindsay Collins 16. Egan Butcher 17. Nat Butcher

Injuries/suspensions: Sam Verrills (suspension, Round 2), Joseph Suaalii, Luke Keary

Analysis: My word, strong side.. The injured cavalry return, along with a few class recruits.

The backline depth is exceptional with Billy Smith, Paul Momirovski, Kevin Naiqama and Joseph Suaallii shooting for the vacant centre and wing roles.

Many are tipping grand final winner Momirovski to slot in at centre, at this stage it appears that way.

I think Smith is a quality talent who’s been plagued by injuries early in his career, they may want him with a few games under his belt before ramping him up to NRL level straight away.

Joseph Suaalii isn’t locked into the wing, and while he’s still young, surely he’s too good to leave out? Naiqama could get this role.

Siosiua Taukeiaho and Lindsay Collins could switch between starting prop and bench, but I don’t think it’ll impact overall game time too significantly either way.

Connor Watson may start at hooker in round 1 until Sam Verrills returns the following week, Ben Marschke may be the preferred option though.

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GUNS

James Tedesco // $760,100 // FLB // 2021 Ave: 86.7

Tedesco is locked into my Round 1 side, and it’s not hard to see why with averages across the past three seasons of 87, 95 and 84.

Remarkably he did that in an absolutely decimated Roosters outfit.

One may argue with star power returning to the side he may be less relied upon in attack, that may be so, but his attacking opportunities will be significantly more efficient.

Add in the amount of tries he scores backing up busts and we’re in for a big season.

He scored six tries in three games to start last season, then Luke Keary got injured and he finished with one in his final 16 games, my word…

At $760k I think he’s starting at value.

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Angus Crichton // $653,200 // 2RF // 2021 Ave: 74.5

There’s a case to be made that Crichton is at top dollar so there’s no value to start the season, but you know what you’re going to get with him.

He’s averaged 69 or above in his last five seasons which is remarkable consistency.

He scored nine tries in 18 games in 2021 which is a very good strike-rate for a back-rower, but in what will likely be an improved Roosters outfit there’s no reason why he can’t match or even better that number.

He based at 50 per game, he offloads, busts tackles, and is close to the complete package.

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Sam Walker // $545,900 // HFB // 2021 Ave: 62.3

Ah Sammy my boy, what a talent you are!

I can’t be much more impressed with Walker, and with a full pre-season under his belt (namely in the gym), and plenty of time spent under the tutelage of Cooper Cronk, 2022 looms as an exciting year for the gifted playmaker.

Even before doubts lingered over Luke Keary’s fitness I had Walker above his more experienced halves partner in my SuperCoach side.

In his debut year he averaged 62 points in 72 minutes of game time.

He goal-kicked at times, but his strike-rate was poor. He’s believed to be taking up the role full-time this year which is massive in a team that could pile 50 point wins on for fun.

That being said, he still has to bang them over at a decent rate to keep the role.

Debuting last season at just 18-years-old, he opened with SuperCoach scores of 81, 89, 21 (Storm in Melbourne), 125 and 163 to start his NRL career.

He was even injured for most of the season!

He could be anything this year, and at $546k I think he’s a steal.

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Daniel Tupou // $518,000 // CTW // 2021 Ave: 59.1

Tupou’s price tag always keeps people away early in the season, and I’ve avoided in the past also.

But as we know, CTW is prime real estate this season as we chase those big ceilings.

Tupou has it, and with a gun and fully fit side around him I think he’ll significantly improve on his 14 tries in 24 games from last season.

SuperCoach wise, he’s averaged 59, 71 and 56 in his last three seasons. He has one of the best work ethics in SuperCoach for CTWs, basing at 32 per game last year.

He’s another I think is undervalued to begin the year and is a POD with massive upside.

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Joseph Manu // $539,400 // CTW-FLB // 2021 Ave: 61.5

Manu I’m a little torn on.

He’s never really been SuperCoach relevant, despite the class of footballer that he is.

Last season he averaged 61 points in comfortably his best scoring year to date.

That was largely due to the NRL’s rule changes, but he did start to play the Tommy Turbo Origin centre role late in the season as a roaming centre.

It sent his base stats through the roof, lifting it from mid 20s to late 30s, even early to mid 40s at times.

If this continues, and it’s a big if, well then he will be superb this year and will also benefit in what should be a relentless attacking unit.

He did punch out some big scores at fullback which inflated his average, but that’s okay, it’s the back end of the year we are all looking at.

Prior to last year, his averages were 56, 49, 44 and 41, not overly enticing, but the game has changed dramatically in the past 24 months, especially for SuperCoach CTW scoring.

I’m happy to watch his role early, but there’s a fair case to start with him. I prefer Tupou though who has base and will score tries for fun.

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MID-RANGERS

Sitili Tupouniua // $482,200 // 2RF // 2021 Ave: 55

There’s definitely a case for Tupouniua as an early POD, I just think he’s a little too attack reliant for my liking.

It doesn’t mean he can’t bag a decent chunk tries and linebreaks this season, but I don’t really want to depend on it for almost $500k.

He averaged 73 minutes last year for 34 in base which isn’t great, but he does have the attacking upside to counter that in his point scoring average over the course of a season.

He scored 12 tries in 22 games last season which is a good strike-rate, he’d be doing well to better it.

BARGAIN BUYS

Kevin Naiqama $306,900 // Billy Smith $294,600 // Joseph Suaalii $259,500

All on my watch list, I’ll basically pick any or all if they get picked in Round 1.

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AVOIDS

Luke Keary // $528,400 // HFB-5/8 // 2021 Ave: 75.3

I was going to take a deeper dive into Keary, but reports are now suggesting he’s in doubt for Round 1 which isn’t ideal.

He’s not playing in the Roosters trial, meaning he returns from an ACL injury straight into the NRL following almost 12 months off.

He could absolutely prove me wrong and come out averaging 75+, but it’s a risk I’m very willing to take.

Even prior to this news I liked Walker more, so I’ll edge that way.